ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Defence
VISIT OF FRENCH MINISTER OF ARMED FORCES ONBOARD INS VIKRANT
French high level delegation led by Mr Sébastien Lecornu, French Minister of Armed Forces visited the Indigenous Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant today. The delegation interacted with Vice Admiral MA Hampiholi Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command onboard Vikrant. The French Minister acknowledged India's indigenous potential and self-reliance. The discussions ranged from enhancing cooperation in areas of mutual interest to the maritime challenges in the IOR. The visit further consolidated the strategic bilateral relations between both the countries.
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Special Service and Features
Shri. Prasanna Kumar Motupalli Assumes Office as CMD of NLC India Ltd
Shri. Prasanna Kumar Motupalli assumed charge as Chairman and Managing Director of NLC India Ltd today. Prior to taking up the baton, he was the MD of Gujarat State Electricity Corporation Ltd .
Shri. Prasanna Kumar, a gold medallist in Mechanical Engineering from Bapatla College of Engineering, Andhra Pradesh, has a rich experience of more than 3 decades in power sector and coal. He holds MBA in four specialization, Operations Management, Marketing management Financial Management and Human resource Management and is a Fellow of The Institution of Engineers . He is a topper of Energy Auditor Examination of Bureau of Energy Efficiency, GOI and is also a Certified Level-D exam holder of International Project Management Association . In addition to his rich profile of education he has to his credit more than 50 technical and manager paper in renowned National and International conferences and journals winning him laurels and appreciation.
Shri. Prasanna Kumar began his career in National Thermal Power Corporation, a Maharatna Govt. of India CPSE, with a valuable contribution to the industry in various capacities spanning over 34 years. Prior to GSECL, he was an Executive Director of heading vertical of NTPC . During his stint at GSECL, he was also appointed as the Chairman of the Prestigious Western Region Power Committee, 
Shri. Prasanna Kumar has made remarkable achievements as Director of CNUPL  and also as the Joint Managing Director of MahaGuj Collieries Limited. Under his leadership, at GECTO the company had undertaken massive Solar PV capacity addition  on waste land available near substations of GETCO.
As a professional manager, strategic planner and business leader in Indian Power Sector and coal, Shri. Prasanna Kumar will continue to lead NLCIL, which is now spreading its wings in all parts of the country on the path of progress towards becoming a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise.
Ministry of Finance
‘Ease of Living’ - central Tenet of Union Budget 2020-21
Budget interwoven around themes of Aspirational India, Economic Development and a caring society
Backdrop of budget provided by proliferation of cutting edge technologies alongwith highest ever cohort of productive age population
Aim to achieve seamless delivery of services, improve physical quality of life, mitigate disaster risks and boost social security
Ideas of corruption free & policy-driven good governance and clean & sound financial sector permeate budget
Government commits to substantially boost investment in agriculture, infrastructure, social sector, education and health
“Our Prime Minister has laid before us Ease of Living as a goal to be achieved on behalf of all citizens”, said the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman while presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament today. With this backdrop, our government shall work towards taking the country forward so that we can leapfrog to the next level of health, prosperity and wellbeing, she added.
This budget, with the Central Tenet of Ease of Living for all citizens, is woven around three prominent themes:
- Aspirational India in which all sections of the society seek better standards of living, with access to health, education and better jobs. Its components are Agriculture Irrigation and Rural development; Wellness, Water & Sanitation; and Education & Skills.
- Economic Development for all, indicated in the Prime Minister’s exhortation of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas”. This would entail pervasive economic reforms and yielding more space for the private sector to ensure higher productivity and greater efficiency. Three components of which are Industry, Commerce and Investment; Infrastructure; and the New Economy.
· A Caring Society, based on Antyodaya, which is both humane and compassionate. Three components of which are Women & Child, Social Welfare; Culture and Tourism and Environment & Climate Change.
These three broad themes are held together by a corruption free, policy-driven good governance and a clean and sound financial sector. The Finance Minister further said that this budget is being presented in the backdrop of two cross-cutting developments namely, proliferation of technologies like Machine Learning, Robotics, AI, Analytics, Bio-Informatics; and the highest ever cohort of productive age population . Consequently, the digital revolution has placed India in a unique leadership position globally. The government aims to:
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- Achieve seamless delivery of services through Digital governance
- Improve physical quality of life through National Infrastructure Pipeline
- Mitigate Risks through Disaster Resilience
- Boost Social security through Pension and Insurance penetration.
The Finance Minister also said that the Union Budget 2020-21 reflects the Government’s firm commitment to substantially boost investment in Agriculture, Infrastructure, Social Sector, Education and Health. This is substantiated by increase in expenditure of Rs 3,43,678 crores over RE  while keeping the fiscal deficit at 3.8% of GDP, she added.
Ministry of Finance
Shri Anurag Thakur takes charge as Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs
 for Finance & Corporate Affairs here today. Shri Thakur took the charge in the august presence of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
Shri Thakur was greeted in his North Block office by Revenue Secretary Shri Ajay Bhushan Pandey, CBDT Chairperson Shri Pramod Chandra Mody and CBIC Chairperson Shri Pranab Kumar Das besides many other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
BRIEF PROFILE:
Shri Anurag Singh Thakur was born on 24 October 1974. Shri Thakur successfully contested 17th Lok Sabha seat from Hamirpur in Himachal Pradesh. He was first elected to Lok Sabha in May 2008 in a by poll as a candidate of Bharatiya Janata Party . Previously, Shri Thakur has successfully contested 14th, 15th & 16th Lok Sabha elections.
Shri Thakur was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India  from May 2016 to February 2017. On 29 July 2016, Shri Thakur became the first serving BJP Member of Parliament to become a regular commissioned Officer in the Territorial Army. Shri Thakur has done his bachelors education from Doaba College, Jalandhar, Punjab.
Ministry of Defence
5th India-Singapore Defence Ministers Dialogue between Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Minister of Defence, Singapore Dr Ng Eng Hen
Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh co-chaired the 5th India-Singapore Defence Ministers Dialogue along with Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, Republic of Singapore on 20 January 2021. During their virtual interaction, both Ministers expressed satisfaction at the progress of ongoing defence cooperation engagements between the two countries despite limitations imposed by ongoing COVID 19 pandemic.
During the virtual interaction, Raksha Mantri conveyed his compliments on effectiveness of pandemic mitigation measures implemented in Singapore and the contribution of Singapore Armed Forces in restricting the spread of COVID-19. He also highlighted the role of our Armed Forces in combating COVID-19 and various missions undertaken to assist in repatriation of Indians stranded overseas. Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, Singapore, reciprocated the compliments and exchanged views on the role of Armed Forces in the whole of Government’s approach towards control of the pandemic.
Both Ministers also expressed satisfaction at the growing defence ties between the two countries. Both sides reviewed the progress of various bilateral defence cooperation initiatives being pursued over the last year and expressed commitment to further elevate the scale of engagements between the Armed Forces as well as in areas of defence technology and industry. During the dialogue both Ministers discussed new areas of potential cooperation and articulated their vision in this direction. The Ministers witnessed the Signing of the Implementing Agreement on Submarine Rescue Support and Cooperation signed between the Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy.
Defence Secretary Dr. Ajay Kumar was present during the meeting.
Click Here to See Joint Statement Singapore DMD
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, will visit Amethi in Uttar Pradesh tomorrow on 3rd March 2019.
At Kauhar in Amethi, PM will dedicate the Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Limited to the nation.
The Indo-Russia Rifles Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between India’s Ordnance factory and Russian firm, is a milestone in Indo-Russian cooperation
In the Korwa Ordnance Factory, the latest series of the iconic Kalashnikov rifles will be made.
A shining example of Make in India, the joint venture will bolster the armed forces in the country and will strengthen the national security.The factory will also generate employment opportunities in Amethi and nearby areas. The Joint venture will give a tremendous boost to the UP Defence Corridor project.
PM will also unveil several development projects. These relate to power generation, education, health and manufacturing sectors. These projects will be of direct benefit to Amethi region as well as Uttar Pradesh.
Prime Minister will also address a public gathering at Kauhar.
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions
“Pension Payment Order"  promises ease of living for senior citizens: Dr Jitendra Singh
Union Minister of State  Development of North Eastern Region , MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that the recently introduced Electronic “Pension Payment Order"  promises ease of living for senior citizens.
Referring to some path-breaking reforms introduced in the Ministry of Personnel, Dr. Jitendra Singh stated that the Department of Pensions in the Ministry of Personnel was often at the receiving end of complaints from senior citizens about the original copies of their Pension Payment Order getting misplaced. In such situations, the pensioners, particularly the older pensioners, had to face several hardships, he said.
Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi's thrust on digitalization, Dr. Jitendra Singh said, in the last six years there has been rapid progress in this direction and many of the Ministries and Departments in the Government of India were performing nearly 80% of their work through e-office even before the onset of COVID pandemic. He congratulated the officials in the Department of Pensions who had successfully introduced the provision of Electronic "Pension Payment Order" during the height of COVID pandemic, which came as a boon to several of the retiring officials who were getting superannuated during the lockdown period and were finding it difficult to physically receive the hard copy of their PPO. Significantly, the entire process was accomplished much before the targeted timeline in view of the difficulties being faced by the pensioners due to the pandemic.
Accordingly, the Department of Pensions and Pensioners' Welfare decided to integrate the electronic PPO generated through PFMS application of CGA  with Digi-locker. This enables the pensioner to obtain an instant print - out of the latest copy of his PPO from the Digi-locker account.
Dr. Jitendra Singh said, a number of reforms have been introduced to bring ease of living and convenience in the lives of pensioners whose population is increasing day by day with the increase in lifespan and improved status of health. He said, these include Pre-retirement Workshops and Counselling Sessions as well as assistance in meaningful engagement in the post-retirement phase of life so that the energies, the expertise and the experience of senior citizens can be optimally utilised in the service of society and for the cause of nation building.
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SNC
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Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister inaugurates dynamic lighting of the Sardar Sarovar Dam
Unveils website of Statue of Unity in all the UN Official Languages
Unveils Kevadia Mobile App
Inaugurates & Visits Unity Glow Garden
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated dynamic lighting for the Sardar Sarovar Dam. He unveiled the website of Statue of Unity in all the UN official languages and launched the Kevadia App, at the Unity Glow Garden. He inaugurated and visited the Cactus Garden.
Dynamic Lighting for the Sardar Sarovar Dam
Unity Glow Garden
It is an unique theme park spread over an area of 3.61 acre. It has an glimmering array of installations, figures and optical illusionsPM to welcome all tourists to experience the joy of night tourism.
Cactus Garden
It is a grand architectural greenhouse with 450 national and international species from 17 countries. It has around 6 lakh plants including 1.9 lakh cactus plants in an area spread over 25 acre.
Ministry of Micro,Small & Medium Enterprises
Products Worth Rs 22 Lakh Sold in State Level KVIC Exhibition Under P.M.E.G.P.
A sale of worth Rs 22 lakhs was recorded in an exhibition organised by Khadi and Village Industries Commission  New Delhi state office under Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme  during 16-29 February 2020.
Twenty five stalls of Khadi clothes, handicraft products, pickle, honey, millet biscuits, leather goods, embroidery etc from many States and Union Territory units of KVIC viz Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Maharashtra and COIR Board participated in the exhibition.
The exhibition was inaugurated by Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Shri R.K. Mathur and Joint Secretary, MSME Ministry Shri Sudhir Garg was present in the closing function today. Joint Secretary, MSME Ministry Smt. Alka Arora, senior officials from KVIC and Ministry and huge number of people visited the stalls during the exhibition. Khadirumals stitched by J&K militancy affected women were in good demand. Products made from hand made paper, carpets from Mirzapur and organic healthy food items were also centre of attraction.
Prime Minister's Office
PM condoles loss of lives due to accident on Nashik-Shirdi highway
Announces ex-gratia from PMNRF for the victims
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has expressed deep grief over the loss of lives in an accident on the Nashik-Shirdi highway. Shri Modi has also announced an ex-gratia from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund  for the victims.
The Prime Minister's office tweeted;
"Pained by the loss of lives in an accident on the Nashik-Shirdi highway. Condolences to the bereaved families. May the injured recover soon. An ex-gratia of Rs. 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs. 50,000: PM Modi"
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
Cabinet approves transfer of 50.76 acres land at Sarangpur, Chandigarh to the PGIMER, Chandigarh
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the proposal for transfer of 50.76 acres of land at Sarangpur, Chandigarh to the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh.
This will benefit in screening OPD patients, triaging the patients and managing them optimally. Cancer management research & Palliative care would be provided under one roof besides setting up of Learning Resource Centre  and Multi Level Parking etc.
The setting up of New OPD, Shifting of Trauma Centre, Cancer Care, and LRC, the waiting time for surgeries will decrease for the common man. Emergency services will be available in a highly efficient manner, infrastructural medical facilities will improve considerably for the common man.
This will benefit the poorest of the poor patients attending the PGIMER, Chandigarh. Health services and tertiary care will be more effective.
Prime Minister's Office
Prime Minister’s meeting with Mr. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi met Mr. Shantanu Narayen, President and CEO of Adobe today.
They discussed Adobe’s ongoing collaboration and future investment plans in India. Discussions also focused on India’s flagship programme Digital India, and use of emerging technologies in sectors like health, education and R&D.
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs
Metro trains all over the country shut down till 31st March 2020
MDs of Operational Metro Companies informed
In view of current global pandemic of the Corona Virus, for containing its further spread through inter-personal proximity, it has been decided to close down metro rail services on all operational networks across the country till 31st March, 2020.
Sh D S Mishra, Secretary Housing in a message to all MD’s today, has said, that this is being done in continuation of the closing down of metro services today ie 22nd March, 2020 on the day of Janta Curfew. This will help in breaking the chain of further infection of COVID-19, he added.
All MD’s have been urged to kindly inform the public through Print/ Electronic/ Social Media and the websites extensively so that no one faces inconveniences.
All Chief Secretaries have been sensitised through VC by the Cabinet Secretary a little while back on this.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM FOR PRE AND POST MATRIC SCHOLARSHIPS
Under the Centrally Sponsored Pre and Post Matric Scholarship Schemes run by the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, the State Governments/UT Administrations are the implementing agencies. The scheme guidelines mandate availability of Grievance Redressal Mechanism for handling issues in a prompt manner in order to assist and help the target group. This Department does not maintain details of Grievance redressal mechanisms available in the States.
At the Central level also, a grievance redressal mechanism for all schemes is already in place in Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System  available to the citizens to file their grievances to the public authorities on any subject related to service delivery. It is a single portal connected to all the Ministries/ Departments of Government of India and States.
This information was given by Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri A. Narayanaswamy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Sports Authority of India releases Rs 5.79 crore as Out of Pocket Allowance to 2783 Khelo India Athletes
Sports Authority of India has released a total of Rs 5 crore, 78 lakhs and 50 thousand as an Out of Pocket Allowance  for a total of 2783 Khelo India Athletes  for the month of October and November.
The OPA  is transferred directly to the athlete's bank account, whereas the rest of the amount is spent on the athlete's training, food, lodging and education at the Khelo India Academy where the athlete trains. It also includes expenses towards travel to hometown, diet charges while at home and other miscellaneous expenses incurred by the athletes. The funding has been done as per the Khelo India Talent Development  Scheme.
Athletes from 35 States and Union Territories have been given the OPA in 24 sporting disciplines.
Meanwhile, a total of Rs 45 lakh 40 thousand for the month of October and November has been given to 227 rural athletes as a part of the Khelo India Scholarship for the promotion of Indigenous Sports.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Nine Lakh Youth from Pune have benefitted from MUDRA Scheme: Union Minister Shri Prakash Javadekar
Pune, 14 September 2019
Nine Lakh Youth from Pune have benefitted from Mudra Scheme, schemes like Bharatnet, Ayushman Bharat, Pradhan Mantri Matrutv Vandana Yojana too are making rapid progress, said Union Minister for Environment, Forest & Climate Change and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Prakash Javadekar. He was speaking after the first meeting of District Development Co-ordination and Monitoring Committee  in Pune, which took place today under the chairmanship of Shri Javadekar.
The Minister said, “Meetings of Disha are held to plan for the schemes, and monitor their execution. Mudra scheme is making rapid progress in the district and 9 lakh youths from district have been allotted loans worth Rs 8000 crore under it. Out of 58 railways stations in Pune division, 46 have been equipped with wifi facility. 5 Escalators too have been installed."
“The Passport Seva Kendra in Baramati has distributed 5000 passports so far and has made the life of layman easier. Passport seva kendras have been started at 50 places in 5 districts. Bharatnet has given optical fibre connections to 790 Gram Panchayats in district and among them 155 have wifi facility, with average daily use of 20 GB. The schools are being provided with sports material and sports hour too will be made compulsory in schools”, Shri Javadekar added.
The Minister further said that National Health Mission comprising Ayushman Yojana and othe schemes has succeeded in reducing the Infant Mortality rate, Maternal Mortality rate, birth rate and death rate in Pune. "60,000 women in Pune have so far benefitted from Pradhan Mantri Matrutva Yojana.The target for building of toilets has also been achieved and the ranking of Pune in Swachhta has jumped from 10th place to 2nd place. The anganwadis are making rapid progress due to participation of people”.
While wishing the people on the occasion of Hindi Divas, Shri Javadekar reiterated the government policy of promoting all regional languages. He allayed the fear of local languages dying out and cited the increasing use of Hindi on the internet. He further said, rarely ever is such linguistic diversity seen in any other country.
Members of Parliament Shri Girish Bapat and Smt Supriya Sule were also present on the occasion.
DM/MC/DR
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Prime Minister's Office
We narrowly missed a medal in Women’s Hockey but this team reflects the spirit of New India: PM
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has said that we narrowly missed a medal in Women’s Hockey but this team reflects the spirit of New India- where we give our best and scale new frontiers. He also said that we will always remember the great performance of our Women’s Hockey Team at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said;
"We will always remember the great performance of our Women’s Hockey Team at #Tokyo2020. They gave their best throughout. Each and every member of the team is blessed with remarkable courage, skill and resilience. India is proud of this outstanding team.
We narrowly missed a medal in Women’s Hockey but this team reflects the spirit of New India- where we give our best and scale new frontiers. More importantly, their success at #Tokyo2020 will motivate young daughters of India to take up Hockey and excel in it. Proud of this team."